Wrench



(NoModeL) A. D. WARD.

WRENCH.

No. 352,433. Patented Nov. 9, 1886.

mfnesses ANDREW 1). WARD, or AUGUSTA, MAINE.

WRENCH.

senorrrca'rron forming part of Letters Patent No. 352,433, dated November 9, 18 86.

Application filed May 12, 1886. Serial No. 201,970. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, ANDREW D. \VARD, a. citizen of the United States, and a resident of Augusta, in the county of Kennebec and State of Maine, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in l/Vrenches, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to pipewrenches in which a movable jaw is used; and it consists of the use, in such a pipe-wrench, of a toothed jaw pivoted at its back end to a slide which is joined to a second slide by means of a screw having a milled thumb-wheel, the last-mentioned slide being held from sliding backward by means of ratchet-teeth, which engage corresponding teeth on the bar of the wrench.

This slide also has a spring which holds it down to the toothed bar, and which admits of the slide being lifted away from the teeth and moved freely along the bar for rapid adjustmen t, leaving the con necting-screw for the companyi ng drawings, in which Figure 1 shows acentral longitudinal section. Fig. 2 isafront elevation; Fig. 8, a sectional detail of Fig. l.

A is the bar of the wrench, and A is the fixed jaw at its end. One edge of the bar A is provided with ratchet-teeth a a. A movable tooth-faced jaw, B, having a yoke, B, fitting around the bar A, is pivoted at its back end to the slide D by means of the pivot b. The yoke B is so constructed as to allow the free or toothed end of the jaw B a limited amount of motion to and from-the bar A. v

Secured to the upper side of the jaw B is the spring 0, one end of which rests on the projecting portion (1 of the slide D, to which the jaw B is pivoted. The force of the spring 0 tends to raise the free end of the jaw B from the bar A. The end of the jaw B is fitted against a shoulder on the end of the projecting portion d, so that the pivot bis relieved from any pressure. A second slide, E, follows the slide D, to which it is connected by means of a screw,-H, one end of which enters a recess, z, in the slide D, and is there confined by the pini, playing in the groove i, out near the end of the screw, while the opposite end passes through the slide E, which is tapped out to receive it.

The screw H is turned by means of the milled thuinbwheel I, placed immediately back of the slide D. The slide E is provided with ratchet-teeth e e, which engage the teeth a a, and preventthe slide from moving backward, but allow it to be moved forward.

The slide E is made somewhat larger than the bar-A in the direction of its greatest thickness,and between the back edge of the bar and the inside surface of the slide is the spring F, which rests against the edge of the bar and tends to keep the teeth a a and e e interlocked. A thumb-serew,G, is provided, to regulate the tension of the spring F.

Mywrench is operated as follows, viz: The slide E is pressed upward against the force of the spring F, so that the teeth 6 6 clear the teeth o a. The jaw B is then roughly adjusted by moving the slide E, with the parts attached thereto, rapidly along the bar A. The end of thejaw B is then slightly depressed with the thumb, and its toothed edge adjusted against the pipe by turning the screw H. If, now, the wrench is turnedin the direction shown by the arrow, the jaw B will be forced down against the bar A,and at the same time the teeth will be set into the sides of the pipe. The bar A will thus receive the greater part of the strain at right angles. When the wrench is turned backward, the grip of the jaw B is easily relaxed from the pipe, and it will be found to work without binding while clinging closely to the pipe. When properly set, it may easily be worked with one hand. A spiral or other spring may be inserted between the jaw B and the bar A, in place of the spring 0.

I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. In a pipe-wrench, the combination ratchet-bar A, having fixed jaw A at one end, with movable jaw B, having yoke B fitting around the bar A, the ratchetslide D, to which the jaw B is pivoted, the block E, and spring F, the screw H, confined to the slide D by pin 6, and the thumb-wheel I on the screw H, substantially as shown and described.

2. In apipe-wrench, the toothed bar A, having fixed jaw A, combined with the movable jaw B, having a yoke, B, and alifting-spring,

O, and being pivoted to the slide D,which slide is connected with a second slide, E, by the 5 screw H, having milled thumb-wheel I, said slide being provided with spring F, all substantially as described.

3. In a pipe-wrench, the ratchet-bar A, having on its end the fixed jaw A, the pivoted jaw B, having yoke B, the slide D, the screw H, IO and piece' E, the spring F,an d thumb-screw G, substantially as described.

ANDREW D. WARD. In presence of- LEWIS SELBING, D. W. BATES. 

